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THE WALK |
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THE WALK
Romance
 Created on 7-6-08
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 Story Rating G
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I
T WAS ONE OF THOSE DAYS. The kind of perfect weather, with just the right amount of clouds, and a brilliant golden-grey haze over everything. I was in heaven, and I wasn’t going to allow anything to ruin my euphoric mood. I suppose my day passed in a blur, by the time I got home from school, I didn’t remember what had transpired there. What shocked me was that I didn’t want to share my day with my best friend, who was sure to be in the same mood that I was. It was cool out, and it was beautiful, but I didn’t want to be in my neighborhood. I wanted to be somewhere that would reflect my mood. Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of anywhere to go except the park by my friend’s house. She was most likely going to be there, and it wouldn’t be as fun unless I were there alone at night. It was still an hour to sunset. I sprayed a thin coating of unscented bug spray over my exposed skin, and began my half-hour trek down Holly Street.
I had no idea why I wanted to be there, but the overwhelming feeling that I should be there was all I could think about at the time. I had a plan that I would hang around in a place that my friend wouldn’t see me if she were there. If she was, I would head to The Walk. The Walk was a pathway running through some trees behind houses. Eventually, it melded into what we called the Haunted Walk. Weird things happened when you went down the Haunted Walk at night. I always felt like I was being followed, and then I heard a sinister voice whispering my name. Though, it wasn’t always sinister. Sometimes it was longing. As I approached the grassy field at the edge of the park, I saw a body laying in between three trees, which we called the Three Kingdoms, on the far side. I automatically turned and strode in the other direction. But as I walked down Colorado Boulevard toward the entrance to The Walk, an overwhelming feeling that I should turn back came over me. I ignored it, and pressed forward, but as I approached, the feeling got stronger. I took two steps forward, then gave in to my gut, and turned back. I walked back to the park just as the sun was setting, the last rays of pink and gold sinking over the Rocky Mountains in the west. I sat down and joined my friend in the Three Kingdoms, ignoring her startled look as I stared off into the orange-tinted grass in front of me. My eyes stayed out of focus for at least an hour after that. Right before we headed back to her house, I suggested that we go on The Walk the next day. I had to find out what had made me turn back. I dumped my backpack on my bed, and quickly combed through my hair. I then plopped down on my bed and looked through my script for "Jekyl and Hyde." I was too distracted to really pay attention to what I was reading, though. Desiree, call me! I thought. That day had been perfect just like the day before. The only difference was that today smelled like rain, so it was more perfect. Just as I flipped to the very last page of the script, and finished highlighting my lines, the phone rang. Finally! My thoughts sighed. "Hello?" " ‘Ello, ‘ello!" Desiree greeted from the other end. "Are you ready? Do you want me to start walking?" I couldn’t hide my anxiousness with fake nonchalance, no matter how hard I tried. "Hold on there, missy! I just barely got home!" "So we should start walking before you get too comfortable!" I heard Desiree’s long, breathy sigh. "Give me a chance to get a drink at least." "Okay, I’ll see you soon," I said and hung up the phone. I did a quick purse-check to make sure I had everything that I needed. Then I set out into the rosy air. The walk went much shorter than expected. I had good music playing, so I walked faster. When Desiree tapped me on the shoulder, I nearly jumped out of my shoes. She laughed. I leaned my head back and took a deep breath of the thick, yet soft air. I could feel the slight breeze on my eyelids, and I couldn’t supress the smile. Desiree giggled again. "What?" "You’re in rare form today." "What do you mean?" I asked, taking my attention away from the glow surrounding everything. "I haven’t seen you this content since…ever." "And…" "What about today is making you this way? I like this Sarah." "I don’t know," I said, shrugging and putting my arms behind my neck as I walked. "Oh yeah? You know I’m not going to let you get away with that." Once again, I shrugged. My eyes moved to the side away from the street and came to a rest on the grass. I picked a long piece of wheat grass and placed the end in my mouth. Desiree sighed and looked away, letting it go for now. I knew that she would bombard me later. I would have to think of excuse beyond the fact that I didn’t know why I felt so good. I had never felt this good before. Never. I glanced sidelong at Desiree walking beside me. She was four years older than I was, and a full head-and-a-half shorter. We were exact opposites physically. I was tall, blond, and large busted with gray eyes. She was short, with curly auburn hair and hazel eyes. Today they happened to be a rather vibrant shade of emerald green. We had been best friends for just over five years. It seemed like an eternity longer. Unable to stand the silence any more, I rushed ahead of her, attempting a cartwheel that failed miserably, just as I knew it would, which sent me tumbling into the grass. That was one of my many faults. I was exceedingly clumsy. But I could use it to my advantage, provided that the moment was right and I tried hard enough. Now was one of those times. I burst out laughing, as I lay on my back staring at the clouds. Desiree rushed to my side, forever the nurturing friend, and asked me if I was okay. "Would I be laughing if I wasn’t?" I said between guffaws. "I guess not," she said, beginning to laugh a little herself. "Now, help me up. I have bad tall person knees." We continued walking, and soon we stood in her kitchen drinking water. I took a long gulp, and just as I was swallowing, Gavin and Connor yelled behind me. I choked on the water, falling into a terrible coughing frenzy. The two teenaged boys erupted in laughter. Gavin, Desiree’s younger brother, was the first to apologize. He was number two on my list of best friends. Connor reluctantly followed suit. "Yeah, yeah," I muttered, playfully angry. "Hey, we were just about to head to The Walk, considering how nice the weather is. Do you guys want to tag along?" Desiree asked. "Uh…sure?" Gavin said, turning to see if Connor wanted to go too. "I’m game," Connor shrugged, with his hands in his pockets. "I have my camera with me." I said, smiling mischievously at Desiree. "Yes!" she exclaimed, "Score!" Gavin and Connor groaned, but smiled all the same. The journey down Colorado Boulevard to The Walk was uneventful, save for a few teasing shoves in the general direction of the street. And even more teasing Desiree about her new job. We wouldn’t say it out loud, but we were all secretly wondering when her boss would give her a promotion. He loved her. It was inevitable. In any case, as we approached the opening to the walk, I felt no ominous warnings. Not a single thing telling me to turn back. So when we were a few feet in, and could no longer see the street, I decided to make the most of it, and pulled out my digital camera. I snapped a few shots of Desiree posing with trees, Connor being a geek and trying to jump over a park bench, and Gavin sitting on a rock. Then Desiree snatched the camera and insisted on turning the photographer into the model. The boys agreed. "Let’s see if you show up on film." So I reluctantly conceded. I knelt in a cozy little spot on a footbridge, amongst the bushes. There was a huge tree behind me. After a few silly comments and Desiree admonishing me to be still, we finally got a decent picture. As soon as I saw the photo, I stopped walking. "What’s that?" I said, pointing to a spot above my head. There was the silhouette of a hand against the tree. "Connor, were you doing shadow puppets over my head or something?" I knew the answer before he said it. I had seen Connor and Gavin the entire time, and neither one raised their arms in any way that would’ve caused the small interference. "That’s freaky," Desiree said flippantly, trying to alleviate the situation. The sun was sinking quickly behind the mountains, causing the glow to dim. Gavin switched on the flashlight. We continued walking, vowing that we would turn back before we got to the Haunted Walk. None of us were about to ruin a perfect day by setting foot on that part of the path. As we approached a small copse of trees that separated the paved path from the dirt bike trail, an eerie shifting sound emitted from within. Like someone was hiding in the trees, debating whether or not to leap out at us. I tensed, ready to defend myself. If anything was going to happen, I was glad that it was now rather than a year ago. I was in significantly better shape now. I could tell that Desiree, Connor, and Gavin were ready, too. Gavin gently came to stand in front of me, which made sense, because I was the youngest. More shifting noises came from the trees. I was prepared to laugh if it was a cat or something silly like that. But nothing emerged to prove me wrong. The shifting stopped. We all released the air we didn’t know we were holding, and moved on. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. We shrugged off the incident and continued along our way. It wasn’t as easy for me to forget as it was for the others. In my mind, there was a shadow in every corner. Every time I jumped at a movement, I would laugh at myself and remind myself that it was just my mind. That was, until we got to the foot of the Haunted Walk. It was then, when we were staring into the darkness, that I felt a queer, warm breath at my neck. My hair was finally long enough to scoop into a ponytail, and I had taken full advantage of the opportunity. Now, I was regretting it. But once again, I passed it off as a trick of my mind, but shivered all the same. We turned and started back the way we had come. When we could no longer see the entrance to the Haunted Walk around the bend, it was as if a physical weight had been removed from our shoulders and cheery conversation resumed. The rest of the group was distracted; I analyzed the sensation of the breath on my neck. There had been no wind whatsoever all day, so how likely was it that a breeze would suddenly appear out of nowhere? And if there had been a breeze, wouldn’t the others have felt it too? And in 65 degree weather, how could a breeze have been that warm? I shook my head and rubbed the back of my neck, recalling the goosebumps that had risen in that exact spot. And then I realized the breath was more comforting than it was disconcerting. For a moment, it had calmed my jumpiness, and completely released me of the tension that came every time we were that close to the Haunted Walk. And I wished that it would return and act once again as balm against my skittishness. I glanced at the rest of the group, who had fallen silent and were watching me with concerned eyes. Running ahead of them and trying my cartwheel trick wouldn’t work this time, so I had to think fast. " ‘You fancy me mad; mad men know nothing.’" I said, widening my eyes and mustering up the creepiest voice I could. They laughed nonchalantly. I released a sigh of relief, glad that they believed my attempt at flippancy. Though my goosebumps never quite went away, I somehow retained some semblance of normalcy for the rest of the night. I opened my eyes and stretched, letting the length of my spine reach its fullest. I rolled over on my pillow, burying my face in its depths. I caught a brief sniff of my hair, which still smelled like raspberries. I took a deep breath, hoping that no one else was awake, then slipped out into the stillness of the house. The stairs creaked under my feet as I went, creating frustrating noise. I stopped, listening in the hope that I hadn’t woken anyone up. When I heard nothing, I continued…but at a slower pace. I stood in the doorway of the house, gazing out at the fragment of light blue sky that peeked out from behind ominous clouds. It would rain today. I gazed out at the sky for a long while. There were no birds, no planes, nothing to disturb the calm serenity that was the morning. The air was unusually crisp for this time of year. As I stared the perspective of the whole scene seemed to take on a different quality. It suddenly seemed eerie, this stillness. No longer peaceful. I shivered, closed the door and walked back upstairs, where Desiree was just stirring. "You look flushed. Where were you?" she said, yawning and running a hand over her unruly curls. "I was just looking out the window. It looks like it might rain today," I smiled. "That’ll be cool. Hey, do you realize that a month from today, we’ll be out of school and I’ll be graduated?" "I didn’t even think about that! That’s weird…" I laughed, "You’ll be old." "That’s pleasant. Gee thanks!" "It’s my job!" and I smiled big, provoking a smile just as large in my friend. "Oh yeah?" She laughed and threw a pillow at me. I dodged it carefully, picked it up and tossed it back. We laughed for a moment, but then the nostalgia kicked in. I sat on the floor beside her bed and sighed, falling backward onto my pillow. "Remember last summer?" "What about it?" "The Rennie Fair." "That was great! Remember what Juaqin said when he saw us again?" "I was just shocked that he remembered us! Or at least he remembered you!" I laughed playfully. "Oh yeah? Well, the nut guy looked happier to see you then me." She smiled. "I honestly don’t think he cared. I really don’t think he remembered either of us." "You’re optomistic." She said, rolling her eyes. "Yep! Besides, would it have mattered?" "No…not really. Remember Prince Dashing?" "And my bracelet?" I said, giggling at the memory. That last summer, nearly a year ago, we had gone on our annual trip to the local Renaissance Festival. Our good friend, Miranda, and her mother, had accompanied us. After walking around and showing her the way of the Festival, we ran into Prince Dashing and Prince Charming, two of the actors that wandered around to play their part. After saying goodbye, laughing the whole way, I was chased down and tapped on the shoulder by none other than Dashing himself. Apparently, one of my bracelets, which were much too large for my wrist and hand, had slipped off. The two princes ended up chatting with us for at least half an hour afterward. They were, unfortunately, ripped away by the King. "Ha ha…and remember how he offered to ‘escort’ us around the fair?" We laughed heartily, but we were interrupted by a loud knock from downstairs. "That’s weird, I wasn’t aware that we were expecting anyone," Desiree said, puzzled as she hurriedly grabbed her housecoat and opened her bedroom door. I followed closely behind, curious about who on earth was here. I stood in the hallway behind the door, peering around her head. There, in the doorway, was about a dozen red roses in paper. Bewildered, Desiree stooped to pick them up. "What’s it say?" I asked, seeing the card as she turned toward me. She hadn’t seen it yet, so I picked it off the front and gazed at the elegantly sloped calligraphy that was scrawled across the page. "
Desiree.
" "Ohh…" I whispered, "Nice handwriting."
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